If you've never heard of fox nuts, you'd be forgiven for assuming that they don't sound particularly palatable. But they're actually starchy seeds harvested from an aquatic lily and are being hailed as a versatile superfood, with recent studies supporting why they've been a powerhouse in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for 3,000 years, treating everything from obesity to high cholesterol and inflammation. And no foxes are harmed in the process.
Fox nuts are actually fleshy round kernels within the seeds of the Eurale ferox flower, an aquatic plant that belongs to the water lily family. Not surprisingly, it's also more commonly known as the prickly water lily. It's grown in shallow water in tropical regions across Asia, including India, where the nut is known as makhana and phool makhana. But here's where it gets a little confusing: fox nuts are often called lotus seeds on grocery store shelves, however, lotus seeds actually come from a distant lotus cousin of the E. ferox plant, Nelumbo nucifera. The seeds from this plant are also a super food and have long been used in traditional medicine. While they look quite similar, seeds from the lotus are elongated with a distinct sprout opening at one end.
While market forecasts for fox nuts vary, all predict growth of between 7% and 10% over the next decade, and price the global industry at around US$90 million by 2030. Several companies are now producing fox nuts 'pops' as popcorn alternatives, and most Chinese and Indian grocers stock a range of cooked, dried and roasted seeds (which are generally cheaper than other emerging health-food products on the market).
Because these small aquatic seeds have arrived on the world stage, we decided it's time to dive into the research on this emerging superfood.
Their anti-aging properties have been of particular interest in the science world. Studies in 2012, 2018, 2020 and more recently in 2023 reviewed the suite of antioxidants in these tiny packages, noting key compounds that are important for cell health and countering inflammation.
"The most important amino acids present in fox nut are leucine, isoleucine, methionine, cysteine, arginine, and glutamine," noted researchers in the 2023 paper. "The precursors to creatine are the amino acids arginine and methionine ... creatine is crucial for the metabolism of cells in the body. Creatine provides energy to the cells, allowing for the creation of connective tissue, cells, and metabolism."
The nutritional profile was further explored in a paper earlier this year, which also cited its use in traditional medicine to protect the spleen and kidneys, as well as regulate blood pressure and blood sugar. The super-seeds have about 9.7 g of protein per 100 g, 0.1 g of sugar per 100 g, as well as magnesium, potassium and phosphorus.
What do they taste like? Well, not much at all. But their rise in popularity beyond their native growing regions seems to have stemmed from the method of preparation that essentially 'pops' them under heat, much like popcorn without the gritty parts. But they can also be used in soups, stir fry, trail mixes and porridge, made into a flour or roasted as a standalone snack. The starchy kernels can also be eaten raw.
While a single plant can produce around 100 fox nuts, with 1,000 plants able to be grown across 2.5 acres (1 ha), they're still largely harvested and peeled manually. That said, India exported 25,130 metric tons of the tiny balls in 2023-2024. And where did they go? The US, primarily, as well as the UK, Canada and Australia.
As well as the mode of harvest, the slow rise to popularity has also been attributed to their blandness and 'soggy' texture when raw. However, a 2022 study found that fox nuts not only retained their nutritional profile when roasted and seasoned, but improved on it.
"Results showed that roasting significantly improved the minerals content (from 0.58 to 0.66%), protein content (from 11.40 to 14.57%), total phenolics (from 346.02 to 470.62 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (from 4.15 to 4.43 mg CE/g), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity (from 48.54 to 79.13% inhibition) and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (from 662.46 to 957.14 μmol FeSO4/g)," the researchers found. "Thus, roasted fox nuts can be consumed as nutrient rich and low GI snack; not only as a component of healthy diet but can also be served to patients with metabolic disorders like obesity and diabetes."
In a 2019 study on rats, scientists studied a novel compound isolated from fox nuts, 2β-hydroxybetulinic acid 3β-oleiate (HBAO). They tested for a variety of biomarkers linked to diabetes.
"HBAO exhibited remarkable improvement in glycemic control, lipid levels, plasma insulin, glycogenic liver enzymes and antioxidant activity in diabetic rats, along with progressive enhancement of distortive histopathological morphology of liver, pancreas and kidney," the scientists noted. "The results strongly suggest that HBAO could be a potential therapeutic agent in diabetes."
While HBAO was tested in a concentration much higher than what is found naturally in a single seed, the positive results have opened the door to developing new and effective drugs derived from nature.
In another animal study, on mice in 2019, scientists assessed the discarded seed casings for their potential to treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). After four weeks, NAFLD mice given a daily dose of the seed coat extract saw a marked reduction in body weight, fat in the liver and blood lipids.
While more human-based studies are needed, emerging scientific evidence suggests the fox nut is a powerhouse that lives up to its recent hype (as well as, of course, the 3,000 years it's been used in traditional medicine). Scalability of production and environmental assessments also need further investigation.
And while the fox nut has also been used in Ayurvedic medicine to improve sexual function, we were unfortunately unable to find any Western studies addressing this one.
